Testing Apple’s 2026 16-inch MacBook Pro, M5 Max, and its new “performance” cores

M5 Pro Max's "performance" CPU cores definitely aren't just rebranded E-cores.

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[THT]

Still curious on whether the lineup consists of 3 chips: 1) CPU chip, 2) Pro GPU chip, 3) Max GPU chip, and there is only one silicon bridge per Pro or Max chip.

Could it be the M5 Max is the CPU chip, and 2 Pro GPU chips and uses 2 silicon bridges?

Then, does the CPU chip have 2 silicon bridge (Ultra Fusion) ports, so you could do two CPU chips and 2 Max GPUs chips, using 3 silicon bridges for the M5 Ultra?

 

[THT]

My understanding is that there's only one Fusion connection, between the CPU/etc die and the GPU/etc die. The 40-core Max GPU is its own die, and not just two 20-core Pro dies fused together.

Yes, it is likely. The x-rays will be very interesting to see.

For the M5 Ultra however, one of the chips has to have 2 Fusion ports so that they can double up, and the Ultra will have 3 Fusion bridges, if an M5 Ultra ships. Wonder how they solve the scaling issues with the Ultra, too.

Having 2 Fusion ports allows them to scale a bit in both directions too, be it more CPU cores or more GPU cores, instead of just doubling both CPU and GPU cores like in prior Ultra versions.